100 party-listed, designate-MPs initially verified

A FULL LIST of 100 designate-MPs who were elected in party-listed mode of last month’s general election was today (Mar.4) initially verified by the Election Commission in addition to 399 others out of a total 400 who successfully contested in constituency-based mode, nearly all of whom have been earlier initially verified.

Given the polling agency’s latest verification of the 100 party-listed, designate-MPs alongside three constituency-based, designate-MPs publicly proclaimed today, following that of 396 others earlier initially verified, only one who contested in constituency-based mode is yet to be verified at a later date to make a total of 500 elected lawmakers.

Given a minimum of 95% of all MPs now verified as required by law, the elected legislators may convene in the House of Representative later this month to pick a House speaker and a couple of deputy House speakers. Then, they will convene again sooner than later to name a person to be voted for prime minister.

The 100 designate-MPs who successfully ran in party-listed mode on behalf of varied parties include 32 of the reformist People’s, very likely core of the opposition bloc headed by Nattapong Ruengpanyawut, 19 of the ultra-conservative Bhumjaithai, very likely core of a post-election government headed by Caretaker Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, 16 of the neo-conservative Pheu Thai headed by Yodchanan Wongsawat, 11 of the Old School conservative Democrats headed by former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and 22 others who represent 17 splinter parties, all of whom have only one or a few MPs each.

Largely anticipated to become partners of a potential coalition led by the Bhumjaithai decisively steered by de facto party boss Newin Chidchob with Anutin prolonging his rule as head of the executive branch are the Pheu Thai, remotely directed by de facto party boss/inmate Thaksin Shinawatra, and nearly all of those splinter parties whilst the Democrats are more or less speculated to be part of the People’s-led opposition bloc of the legislative branch.

Given victories in both constituency-based and party-listed modes of the nationwide election, Newin’s camp have 192 MPs, the People’s 120 MPs, the Pheu Thai 74 MPs, the ultra-conservative Klatham under de facto party boss Thammanat Prompao 58 MPs and the Democrats 21 MPs, among others.

The Bhumjaithai-led coalition will likely secure a combined force of nearly 300 MPs whilst most ministerial seats will largely be allocated among coalition partners in proportion to the number of MPs which each camp has under their respective command.

Apart from Anutin who concurrently acts as the Bhumjaithai leader, as many as 19 Bhumjaithai-attached figures, either being elected lawmakers or unelected, partisan persons, will likely grab ministerial seats in the Anutin II cabinet, plus five ”non-politician technocrats” to assume ministerial seats under the quota of Newin’s camp whilst eight Pheu Thai-attached figures will likely take ministerial seats alongside three others from those splinter camps.

A maximum of 36 persons including a prime minister is legally provided to fill a cabinet of ministers but they are legally allowed to assume more than one ministerial seat in concurrent fashion.

In the meantime, all seven election commissioners chaired by Narong Klanwarin and the polling agency’s secretary-general Sawaeng Boonmee looked undaunted by multiple lawsuits filed against them in court, either in the Criminal Court for Corruption & Misconduct or the Central Administrative Court or the Constitutional Court, to the extent that last month’s election be ultimately declared null and void, thus warranting a new election primarily owing to allegations of electoral rigging and irregularities which evidently featured inequality between the number of used ballots and that of the people who had registered to vote and those between the constituency ballots and party ballots as well as the highly contentious existence of barcodes and QR codes on the ballots which could be electronically prone to post-examination at the cost of the voter’s secrecy and in sheer violation of the constitution, among other alleged wrongdoings.

That the polling agency had already had votes at several voting units recounted has apparently refueled the allegations that such reported irregularities may have occurred at many other units nationwide and that such errors may have been intentional and premeditated whilst many referees may have been hired by rogue contestants to rig votes for them.

According to those who have filed the historic lawsuits, the election commissioners and their secretary-general could possibly be sentenced to terms in prison if finally judged as guilty in court.

Nevertheless, it remains to be seen whether or how the “independent” agencies such as the likes of the Election Commission and Constitutional Court will respond to those allegations of electoral fraud, viewed as one of the dirtiest in Thai political history.

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